Brief & targeting
The question, the targets and the agenda are locked down before we fly.
- Mission Brief
- Target list
- Fair selection
- Meeting pipeline
METHODOLOGY
One field method, adapted to each client
Four phases form the backbone of every mission. The framing, the rhythm and the deliverables then adapt to who you are and what you need to decide.
THE BACKBONE
Four phases, mission after mission
From brief to signature, the same playbook, every time. Each phase reduces the uncertainty a little further, until the decision is documented.
INSIDE THE PLANT
What we look at, once we are past the door
A supplier visit is not a tour. It is a series of specific checks, each of which decides something. Below is one workshop captured in 360°, with three of those checks marked where they are actually made.
MARKED 360° CAPTURE
Three checks, at the exact place they are made
Drag to look around, then open a marker. Each one states what is verified there, and what it decides.
Q-01 Test equipment
Calibration status and due date, unique identification, maintenance records.
An uncalibrated bench produces test reports a buyer takes for proof. It is the costliest failure of all: it contaminates the entire qualification history.
P-01 Work instructions
Version, issue date, and availability at the workstation.
When several revisions live on the same wall, the operator picks one · and that choice is never recorded.
Q-02 Inspection station
Acceptance criteria, sampling plan, and retention of results.
Tests genuinely carried out but unusable, for want of a defined plan and a kept record.
The markers describe the method, not a verdict. Actual findings · supplier, scores, evidence and corrective actions · stay in the client file, shared under NDA.
BY CLIENT TYPE
Same backbone, three ways to run it
The four phases do not move. What changes is how the question is framed, the pace we keep, and the form the deliverables take.
Read the grid for the differences at a glance. The full version of each profile is just below.
01
Industrial SME & mid-cap
One-off mission · on quote
A defined question, answered on the ground.
- Who it is for
- You manufacture or distribute, facing one Asia decision, often without a team on the ground.
- Framing
- One defined question: one product line, one decision.
- Rhythm
- One pass through the four phases, field work in a single window. No long-term commitment.
- Deliverables
- One audit-ready Mission Report: findings, photographic evidence, ranked shortlist.
02
Investment fund
Ongoing advisory · retainer on quote
Built for committees.
- Who it is for
- Committee-driven decisions, with Asia permanently on the radar.
- Framing
- Scoped at mandate level: watch perimeters defined with your team.
- Rhythm
- A continuous cycle: monitoring, priority field windows, regular briefings.
- Deliverables
- Intelligence notes and early-warning signals, written for committees.
03
Product scale-up
One-off mission, extendable through execution
From shortlist to signed contract.
- Who it is for
- Moving from first runs to industrial volumes, on a supply base that must hold.
- Framing
- Scoped around your product: specifications, certifications (CE/RoHS), sampling.
- Rhythm
- Starts as a one-off; ACTIVATE often carries on through to signature.
- Deliverables
- Ranked shortlist and Mission Report; execution under a separate, declared agreement.
The full detail, profile by profile
01 Industrial SME & mid-cap
You manufacture or distribute, and you face one Asia decision: a supplier to verify, a technology to source, a partner to vet, often without a team on the ground.
What changes in the framing
The Mission Brief narrows everything down to a single, defined question. SCOPE concentrates on one product line and one decision, so the field time is spent only where your answer lives.
What changes in the rhythm
One pass through the four phases, with the field work concentrated in a single window: fair coverage, factory visits, face-to-face qualification. No long-term commitment.
What changes in the deliverables
One documented, audit-ready Mission Report: on-site findings, photographic evidence, and a ranked shortlist you can act on directly.
02 Investment fund
Your decisions go through a committee, and Asia stays permanently on your radar: portfolio companies sourcing there, targets to assess, sector signals to read early.
What changes in the framing
Scoping happens at mandate level, not question level. We define watch perimeters with your team, and coverage can extend across the portfolio where it is relevant.
What changes in the rhythm
A continuous cycle rather than a single pass: ongoing sector monitoring, priority field windows, regular briefings, supplier qualification on request.
What changes in the deliverables
Intelligence notes and early-warning signals written for investment committees: documented, audit-ready, made to withstand scrutiny.
03 Product scale-up
You are moving from first runs to industrial volumes, and your supply base has to be verified before you scale on it.
What changes in the framing
SCOPE centres on your product: specifications, certifications (CE/RoHS), sampling requirements. The target list is built to take you from shortlist to signed contract, not just to a list of names.
What changes in the rhythm
The mission starts as a one-off, but ACTIVATE often carries on: sampling rounds, negotiation in Chinese over WeChat, compliance checks, through to signature.
What changes in the deliverables
A ranked shortlist and Mission Report first; if execution follows, it runs through a separate, declared sourcing agreement, with no supplier commissions.
You are the expert of your product. We are the expert of the field.
Every engagement is scoped individually, on quote, from your Mission Brief.